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Local Residents Demand Closure of Agriculture Street Landfill
Throughout the 1950s, the local community suffered from horrible stenches, pest infestations, and smoke emanating from Agriculture Street Landfill (ASL). Spontaneous combustion commonly occurred at…
Constructing Gordon Plaza
In the 1970s, under the administrations of Mayors “Moon” Landrieu and his successor “Dutch” Morial, the city planned and built housing for elderly and low-income families on the former site of…
Gordon Plaza Deemed EPA Superfund Site
By 1985, just four years after the first residents moved into Gordon Plaza, state environmentalists recommended testing soil and air in the Gordon Plaza subdivision to determine the extent of…
Circle Food Store
Paper Monuments Project #031
Tivoli Circle
Long ago before there was Lee Circle, the circular park that connected Faubourg Santa Maria (today’s Central Business District) and the Lower Garden District in New Orleans was called Place du Tivoli.…
Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club
One of the most widely sought after Mardi Gras throws is the famed Zulu Coconut. Given out annually on their Mardi Gras parade, the hand-decorated Zulu coconut, created by members of Zulu Social Aid…
Monument to the Immigrant: The Marble is an Immigrant, too!
The “Monument to the Immigrant” was erected in March 1995 and stands along the Mississippi River in Woldenberg Park. The monument depicts an immigrant family on one side and the other side a stylized…
Joan of Arc Statue: Joanie on the Pony: Home at Last
Each year on January 6th, the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc honors St. Joan and the French heritage of New Orleans with a celebration.
"As the first day of the carnival season, that date suggests…
The Morales-Arlington Tomb: A Fiery Legacy
The Morales-Arlington’s tomb once held one of New Orleans most notorious madams, Josie Arlington, from the city’s equally notorious red light district, Storyville. Arlington's reputation and the tomb…
The Bonne Carré Spillway
The Bonne Carré Spillway was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in December 1935, with the aim of alleviating flooding pressure on the city of New Orleans by allowing the Mississippi River…
Robert R. Moton Elementary School
This building, now boarded up and abandoned, once served as the elementary school for residents of Gordon Plaza and Desire neighborhoods. Opened in 1987, Robert R. Moton Elementary School was built on…
The Lalaurie Mansion
Madame Delphine MacCarthy Lalaurie was a wealthy New Orleans socialite and notorious enslaver. In 1832, Madame Lalaurie moved into a neoclassical mansion at the intersection of today’s Royal and…
Freedom Riders at Xavier University
Imagine sitting on a bus, hearing loud shouts from outside. You look out the window to see a giant mob of segregationists throwing anything they can get their hands on at you. These are the scenes…
Gordon Plaza Residents' Present Day Political Activism
For decades, residents of Gordon Plaza engaged (and continue to engage) in political activism to spread public awareness about toxic contamination in their neighborhood. Residents hope to achieve fair…
Brennan's Restaurant
For over 70 years, visitors and locals alike have considered Brennan’s Restaurant one of the French Quarter’s top-dining locations. In 1946, New Orleans native Owen Brennan founded the restaurant and…
Toxic Chemicals Deposited at Agriculture Street Landfill
In 1948, facing increased public health concerns, the Louisiana State Legislature passed a law prohibiting open-air landfills in highly populated areas. [1] However, New Orleans city officials…
Kohlman’s Tavern: Historic Algiers Black Business Hub
Kohlman’s Tavern, once located at 414 Homer Street in Algiers, was operated by Mr. Louis Kohlman. His son, Freddie Kohlman, the world-renowned jazz drummer, studied drums in the neighborhood with the…
Edgar Joseph Edmunds: Teacher Defies New Orleans's Racial Segregation of Schools in 1875
Edgar Joseph Edmunds was born January 26, 1851, in New Orleans to Edgar and Rose Euphemie Foy Edmunds, free people of color. Edmunds graduated fifth among a class of over 200 students at the…
Lincoln Beach
Paper Monuments Project #020
Mother Catherine Seals
Paper Monuments Project #004
Chinatown
Paper Monument Project #016 Chinatown: New Orleans once had a Chinatown — two, in fact. Its origins trace back to machinations in the global labor market over 150 years ago.
The Natchez Uprising
Paper Monuments Poster #023
Oscar James Dunn
Black civil rights activist and Reconstruction Era politician, whom W.E.B. Du Bois called, "an unselfish, incorruptible, leader."
Dawn of a New Tradition: Black Greek Letter Organizations
On a stroll around most college campuses, you may see students wearing shirts, hoodies, and sweaters with a number of letters from Greek alphabets in a variety of colors. These students are members of…